KUCHING: The Sarawak Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) programme will not be affected by the new and stricter requirements and regulations for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme by the federal government which will come into effect in October.
“Our S-MM2H always aims to welcome participants to enjoy the hospitality and warmness of Sarawak,” said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah at a press conference at Baitul Makmur II here yesterday (Aug 24).
He said currently, among the S-MM2H criteria are placement of fixed deposits in local banks from RM150,000 for individuals to RM300,000 for couples.
He added that the requirement to invest in real properties specifically for residential purpose with total amount of at least RM600,000 applies only to applicants who are between 40 to 50 years of age.
“Applicants who are above 30 years of age could also be considered if they are accompanying their children to study in Sarawak or seeking long-term medical treatment. A minimum stay period of 15 days cumulative per year is required. A 10-year pass will be issued to successful applicants,” he said.
He pointed out that on Aug 11, the federal government had announced that the MM2H programme will resume online in October with stricter criteria.
Abdul Karim said these tightened requirements included an increase of compulsory fixed deposits in local banks from RM150,000 for those aged over 50 years and RM300,000 for those under the age of 50 years to RM1 million; an increase in offshore monthly income from RM10,000 to RM40,000; and a liquid asset declaration of at least RM1.5 million compared to the previous RM500,000.
“There is also a minimum stay period of 90 days cumulative per year as well as five years pass plus five years on renewal basis,” he said.
Noting that some applicants had expressed concerns due to the new requirements for the MM2H programme, he assured, “There is still another place in Malaysia where you can still come over to, and that place is Sarawak.”
He said the S-MM2H programme had its own independent panel to deliberate and decide on applications. He added that this panel, which is chaired by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak and includes various relevant departments and agencies, meets once a month.
He noted that the federal government had temporarily suspended the MM2H programme since June last year, but Sarawak had not stopped its S-MM2H programme.
Abdul Karim said that for the past 14 years from 2007 — when Sarawak first adopted the MM2H programme with slightly modified criteria and requirements — until last year, the state had received a total of 1,306 participants under the programme.
Among the top nationalities of applicants for the S-MM2H programme thus far, he said, were the United Kingdom (18.1 percent), China (17 percent), Taiwan (12.3 percent), Indonesia (7.1 percent), and Singapore (7 percent).
“For S-MM2H applicants in 2019, we had 14 from Australia, 14 from Bangladesh, 25 from England, 45 from China, 17 from Indonesia, 12 from Japan, 29 from Korea, 13 from Taiwan, and so on,” he said.
As for last year, he said the number of applicants was quite small due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its restrictions. Sharing the approximate numbers for last year, he said there were eight applicants from Australia, China (7), Ireland (6), and Singapore (10).
He believed that had it not been for the Covid-19 pandemic, there would be a sharp increase in the number of participants in the S-MM2H programme.
Nevertheless, Abdul Karim expressed optimism that once things had settled down post Covid-19 pandemic, this sharp increase in applicant numbers would be seen.
“As part of Sarawak’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS), we will continue to actively diversify our tourism beyond leisure tourism by looking at the potential of S-MM2H in bringing quality visitors to Sarawak.
“We welcome expatriates and foreigners to apply S-MM2H Programme. All detailed guidelines and application forms are available on our ministry’s website (mtac.sarawak.gov.my),” he said.
